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Pakistani applicants: what to check before you count on study-to-work in Australia

Tips · 2026-10-07 · 3 min read

For many Pakistani students, the plan is clear: study in Australia, find skilled work and build a future there. Government research now shows where that plan most often breaks down. This guide sets out the key findings and a practical checklist, step by step.

Step one: Know what the research covers

Jobs and Skills Australia published its International Students Pathways and Outcomes Study in September 2025. It tracked students who began courses in Australia in 2010–11 and measured their outcomes up to the end of 2023. The policy settings examined end in 2023, before the Migration Strategy changes. Treat the results as evidence of long-term patterns, not as a description of current visa rules.

Step two: Separate residency from career outcomes

Two findings stand side by side:

• Residency: about 35 to 40 per cent of students who started in the early 2010s became permanent residents within 10 years. Among higher education and VET graduates identified in linked tax and employment records, more than half did so within a decade.
• Careers: more than half of international graduates qualified at the highest occupational skill level were working in lower-skilled jobs, against about 20 to 30 per cent of domestic graduates.

The study also found international graduates were less likely to end up working in their field, with university graduates more affected than VET graduates. Their average earnings were lower than those of domestic graduates holding the same qualifications.

Step three: Identify the barriers that apply to you

The report listed six barriers. Review each one against your own situation:

1. English-language ability
2. A lack of practical work experience in Australia
3. Employer hesitation over temporary visa holders
4. Problems getting overseas experience recognised
5. Bias during recruitment
6. A perception among some employers that international graduates are less job-ready

Step four: Build your preparation list

• Course choice: the government has argued it makes sense to keep some graduates in occupations Australia needs, citing doctors and nurses as examples. Research where your field fits before enrolling.
• English test: if your visa or a future employer requires one, plan for IELTS or PTE. Current requirements are on the Home Affairs English language page.
• Local experience: use internships, placements and permitted part-time work to build an Australian track record in your field.
• English CV: prepare a clear CV in English that presents your experience from Pakistan alongside any Australian experience.
• Police certificate: a police character certificate may be needed if a police certificate is requested; see the character requirements.
• Emigration formalities: if you later travel abroad for employment, complete Pakistan's emigration formalities, such as registration with the Protector of Emigrants, and check current requirements with the Bureau of Emigration & Overseas Employment.

Step five: Follow the intake debate

Student numbers remain a political issue in Australia. Calls have been made to cut the intake sharply, while the government defends the system, saying most international students return home and acknowledging that some dodgy providers tried to exploit it. Key figures:

• National planning level for 2026: 295,000 international student commencements, to be kept in 2027.
• Commencements in 2026 so far: down 8 per cent on the same period in 2025.
• Compared with 2019: 13 per cent lower.

Step six: Plan beyond the degree

International education added more than $50 billion to Australia's economy in 2023–24, and Jobs and Skills Australia sees graduates who stay as a possible answer to skill shortages. It also calls better post-study job outcomes critical. For Pakistani applicants, the lesson is direct: a degree is the starting point, and the work towards a skilled job begins from the first day of the course.

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